Keselowski became a top-five qualifier for the 10th time in 13 races this season.

“Yeah,” Keselowski said, “it has been a good year for qualifying and I would say most years that has not been the case. I am not going to complain by any stretch of the imagination. I am very happy with our effort today with qualifying on the pole and as important as qualifying is here at Dover with pit road selection. I am looking forward to Sunday’s race and am very pleased with our starting position.”

The first 24 cars in the 30-minute knockout round of qualifying each broke the old mark of 161.840 mph set last September 29.

Earnhardt posted Friday’s 13th-fastest lap, broke his old record by more than a second (162.933) and still missed the opportunity to qualify for the pole in the second and final round.

“The cars are built a lot differently than they were last year,” said Keselowski, who has one victory under his belt this season (Las Vegas) and a win and four top-10 finishes in eight previous starts at Dover.

“Ford has done a great job catching up (thanks in large part) to the front nose piece. They kind of got left behind on that one. Then, when the Gen-6 car came out, we were allowed to catch up for 2014.”

Keselowski, currently ninth in the Cup point standings, says the biggest reason all manufacturers are running faster in qualifying is added downforce.

“The bigger rear spoiler and the ride height rule (have made the most difference),” he said. “The bigger spoiler adds a significant amount. There’s also a different front belly pan. The cars make more grip by a long shot than what they ever have … 2,600-2,800 pounds of downforce last year to about 3,200 now. That’s a significant increase.”

Busch actually ran the fastest lap of the day, clocking 166.297 mph in practice, when 29 cars exceeded the track record before the track warmed in the afternoon sun.

“Our car was really good in practice,” Busch said. “We weren’t quite able to get the speed we wanted in qualifying. I don’t think anybody really did. Overall, we slowed down a little more than others, I guess. I’m really happy with our M&M Camry in race trim, so I think we’ll be good for the race Sunday.”